


Thursdays

by bookstotheceiling



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23700448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookstotheceiling/pseuds/bookstotheceiling
Summary: In the grand scheme of things, this Thursday shouldn’t have been so bad. It was his day off. He could sleep in and then catch up on some studying. He had a cheesecake that he’d stress-baked in the oven. It should have been a fine Thursday. Except, for some reason, he was standing in the front doorway, listening to a strange woman demand to know who he was.
Relationships: Nico Kim & Levi Schmitt, Nico Kim/Levi Schmitt
Comments: 10
Kudos: 232





	Thursdays

Levi hated Thursdays. It had been a Thursday when that car crashed into Joe’s. It had been a Thursday when his Uncle Saul died and he’d left his mom’s house. And it had been a Thursday when Nico broke up with him. In the middle of the hospital. On a Thursday. 

In the grand scheme of things, this Thursday shouldn’t have been so bad. It was his day off. He could sleep in and then catch up on some studying. He had a cheesecake that he’d stress-baked in the oven. It should have been a fine Thursday. Except, for some reason, he was standing in the front doorway, listening to a strange woman demand to know who he was. 

He’d opened the door because someone had knocked. That had seemed normal enough. But the woman on the other side wasn’t selling anything. And he definitely didn’t know her. And then she had asked who he was. 

Levi glanced back to make sure that he hadn’t accidentally transported to a stranger’s apartment. But no, it was definitely the apartment he was sharing with Jo. So, he turned back to the woman in front of him. 

“Um...what?” 

“Who are you?” Her perfectly arched eyebrows were raised expectantly, and she enunciated every word as if she were speaking to an idiot. Levi suddenly became aware of the fact that he was in his pajamas, and he hadn’t checked, but his hair was probably a mess. She, on the other hand, was flawlessly presentable. He shook his head. 

“Sorry...I just feel like I should be asking that question.” 

“Excuse me?” _How could her eyebrows get any higher?_ Levi cleared his throat. 

“I just mean...that I live here. And you don’t. So...I guess...who are you?” Her face morphed smoothly from expectant to stern. 

“Dr. Schmitt-” 

“You know my name?” A beat passed before the woman continued speaking as if she hadn’t heard him. 

“Dr. Schmitt, it was a surprise to discover that Nico has not told me about you. It is altogether more shocking to learn that he also has not told _you_ about _me_. _His mother_.” 

_Oh. Shit._ Levi knew his brain had a faulty filter. If he didn’t plan out what to say then, more often than not, he said the wrong thing. So, he said nothing. He just stared at the woman- Mrs. Kim- who was standing on the doorstep. On a Thursday. Fuck Thursdays. 

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” 

“I...was not?” But she swept past him before he could blink and settled herself primly on the edge of a green armchair. She placed her bag so that it was perfectly aligned with the legs of the chair. Levi closed the door and slowly followed her into the apartment. 

“Your bed is a mess. You should make your bed first thing in the morning. It sets the tone for the rest of your day. Particularly, if you insist on sleeping in the middle of the sitting area.” Levi tried not to flush as he glanced at the pull out couch he’d been sleeping on for the past month.

“I was in bed when you knocked.” 

“At 9:30 in the morning? That is much too late. By the time you have had breakfast, you will have lost half your day.” 

“It’s my day off!” Levi said indignantly. 

“That is no excuse for laziness.” Levi threw his hands in the air and looked at the ceiling. _God, I know I’ve never been an observant Jew, but please, if you deliver me from this torture, I’ll, you know, observe...sometimes. Probably not regularly. I mean, you know how it is._

“Don’t be slow. Make your bed.” _Deep breath._ Levi lowered his head to meet Mrs. Kim’s gaze and worked hard to keep his tone measured. 

“What do you want?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Why are you here? In this apartment?” 

“I would like to know who you are.” 

“You know my name.” She actually scoffed at him. _Rude._

“Of course I know your name. Only a subpar private investigator would fail to tell me your name. Do I seem like the type of woman that would hire a subpar private investigator?” Levi opened and shut his mouth several times before he managed to say, 

“I have so many thoughts.” 

“Please, do not feel obliged to share them.” She shifted ever so slightly in her seat and gave him a hard stare. 

“I know that you have been sleeping with my son. Some have even called it dating. So, I wish to know who you are. Are you his boyfriend? His paramour? Have you discussed marriage? How will your...presence affect his career? Will you be adopting children or using a surrogate? Dr. Schmitt, are you listening to me?” Levi had pulled out his phone and was holding it to his ear, knee bouncing frantically. He swore when he got Nico’s voicemail. 

Then he tried again. 

And again. 

“Nico often does not answer his phone.” Levi forced a strained smile onto his face and muttered, 

“Excuse me for a minute.” 

Two frantic voicemails and seven text messages later, Levi emerged from the bathroom. Mrs. Kim had not moved. 

“Perhaps now would be a good time to make your bed.” _Deep breath._ Levi said nothing as he tucked in the sheets, folded the blanket, removed the pillows, and returned the bed to a couch position. His heart was hammering and a thousand thoughts flooded his brain. 

“Perhaps you would also like to change into something more appropriate.” Levi glanced down at his dragon-patterned pajama pants. Then he straightened up with a huff and pushed his glasses up his nose. 

“Ma’am, you came into my apartment and started questioning me on my day off. My plans included sleeping, studying, and eating cheesecake. All in my pajamas. I am not changing my plans just because you’ve decided to show up. In fact, I’m hoping you’ll leave because I’m not answering your questions.” 

“What kind of cheesecake?” To Levi’s credit he only blinked twice before answering. 

“Hazelnut.” 

“Yes, I’ll have some as well. I have a hankering for something sweet. Just a small piece though. And a cup of tea will do nicely.” 

“That’s not-” Levi grit his teeth and shook his head. “Never mind. Sure.” He grabbed his phone on his way to the oven and jabbed angrily at the phone icon next to Nico’s name. _Pick up_. 

“Cheesecake should be stored in the refrigerator. It contains dairy.” Mrs. Kim called from her seat. Levi rolled his eyes as he opened the oven door. 

“If you don’t want your cheesecake to crack on top, you need to let it rest for at least an hour with the oven door cracked. It was late last night so I- Nico, _pick up your phone!_ Call me back! Do something!” He hung up and moved the cheesecake to the counter. Three more texts. 

“You shouldn’t disturb him while he’s at work.” Levi pasted that strained smile on his face. 

“Will black tea do?” 

“With just a splash of milk.  


***

_Good news: Your mom likes my cheesecake._

_Bad news: She’s still here!!! And you still haven’t called me back._

Levi was mostly trying to study and ignore Mrs. Kim’s presence. Although he paused regularly to bombard Nico with texts and voicemails. 

“You are a surgical resident.” 

“I am,” Levi sighed. 

“Are you excellent?” Levi said nothing. “If Nico insists on being gay, then I expect him to choose an excellent partner. Are you excellent?” 

“I’m not answering your questions.” He listened to Nico’s phone ring for the twelfth time. 

“Levi, are you OK?” 

“Holy shit, you answered! Thank you so much. Do not hang up!” _Thank you, God._

“Are you hurt?” 

“What? No, I’m not hurt. I-” 

“Are you drunk? Do you need someone to pick you up? I have surgery, but I can call an Uber.” 

“What?! Nico, I’m not drunk. It’s 10:30 in the morning. On a _Thursday._ ” _Rude._

“OK, I’m sorry. It was the only explanation I could think of for you avoiding me for a month and then calling twelve times in one hour.”

“Plus 34 texts. Did you read any of them? Or listen to the voicemails?” 

“No, I just got out of surgery and-” 

“Well, I’ll forgive you for not guessing the real reason because it’s completely insane. Your mother is in my apartment. The one I share with Jo. And she wants to know who I am and whether we’ll be having children.” 

“ _Of course_ he’ll be having children. What I would like to know is whether he will adopt them or hire a surrogate.” Levi shook his head. 

“My apologies. She says-” 

“I- I heard.” 

“Apparently her private investigator failed to tell her that you dumped me.” 

“Her _what?_ ” Levi sighed. 

“I know. Look, I know this is all completely crazy and probably super stressful, but can you do something about it? I don’t know what to say to her.” 

“Levi, I have back-to-back surgeries all day. Link’s on paternity leave.” 

“Nico, she can’t stay here and interrogate me!” This time Nico was the one to sigh. 

“Ugh, I know. Can you just put her on? I’ll talk to her.” Levi held the phone for Mrs. Kim to take, which she managed to do without even brushing against him. He slumped back against the cushions while she spoke to Nico in Korean that he couldn’t understand. He looked up expectantly when she ended the call. 

“Well?” 

“I told Nico that I will leave.” 

“Great!” Levi clambered off the couch and started for the door. 

“Of course I will not.” Levi froze. Then his shoulders slumped. 

“Of course.” He turned back to the couch and settled down with his textbook. He was about to begin reading when Mrs. Kim said,

“I am disappointed by his career.” Levi raised his eyes to the ceiling again and counted to ten. He tried not to say anything. He really did. But…

“How can you be disappointed that your son is a fantastic surgeon? That’s my mother’s dream.”

“Family should be his first priority.” Mrs. Kim said sharply. “He should respect his parents and always be prepared to care for them. Nico does not do this. He has moved away from home. He rarely visits. He does not call. He keeps secrets from us. If he is going to abandon his family, I expect him to be excellent in his career.” 

“He is excellent!” Levi threw his hands in the air. “He’s an ortho _god_. He’s a fucking artist. He can build hips and mend arms and turn ankles into knees!” 

“He should have chosen cardiothoracic surgery or neurosurgery. Orthopedics is a fool’s choice.” 

“Cool. Here’s an idea. You can break your leg in three places; then we’ll discuss the value of orthopedic surgery.” 

“He should be innovating.” 

“He can turn an ankle into a knee! Are you even listening to me?” Mrs. Kim didn’t respond, and Levi took a moment to feel smug. He hadn’t won 14 debate competitions for nothing. He was about to turn back to his textbook when Mrs. Kim spoke again. 

“I am surprised that you are defending him. You said he ended the relationship,” she said slyly. 

“Yeah. So why are you still here?” 

“I would imagine that you are upset with him. Was it because he refused to tell us about you? I am always disappointed when Nico is not honest with me. I imagine it was especially devastating to find out that he is ashamed of you.” Levi slammed his textbook shut and sat up faster than he knew he could. 

“Don’t you dare.” 

“Excuse me?” Mrs. Kim looked genuinely shocked. 

“You don’t get to talk about Nico like that.” He snatched up the dirty plates from the table and stormed towards the kitchen. 

“He is my son.” Levi threw the plates down with a clatter. 

“Exactly!” He took a deep breath and tried to steady his voice. “Nico is not ashamed. He is not ashamed of himself. He was not ashamed of me. And if he felt like he couldn't come out to you, that is not his failing. It is yours.” He stared at her, furious. “You are his mother. You should love and support him. No matter what.” 

“I want him to be the best that he can be. I want him to achieve his full potential,” Mrs. Kim said coldly. 

“You can do that without criticizing him! _That’s_ something that Nico is excellent at. Because you know what? I’m not excellent! I fumble and I drop things- important things, like guide wires. I talk too much, and I push, and I get nervous, and I panic. And Nico wants me to do better. He wants me to be _the best that I can be_. But he doesn’t criticize me. He encourages me. He helps me do better by giving me confidence, by spending hours in the skills lab with me, by believing that I can be excellent. He-” Levi broke off and shoved his fingers under his glasses to stem the tears that had come to his eyes. There was a lump in his throat that he tried to clear away. He leaned against the couch and looked back at Mrs. Kim, who hadn’t moved a muscle. 

“You could learn a thing or two from Nico.” 

“That is enough, Dr. Schmitt.” She stood just as primly as she’d been sitting. “I think I will be going.” Levi sighed. 

“Thank God.” 

***

_Your mom left._

_I kinda yelled at her._

_Sorry._

Nico read the last three texts from Levi as he walked out to his car. It had been a brutally exhausting day with non-stop surgeries. He’d not had time to eat or even sit, and he was looking forward to collapsing on his couch with a beer and hopefully some food. 

Except he needed to find his mom first. He’d tried calling her as soon as he’d seen Levi’s last texts, but she hadn’t answered. Had she gotten a hotel room? Had she gone back to Boston? And for fuck’s sake, he couldn’t _believe_ that she’d hired a _private investigator_.

Well, he actually could. 

Was it a good sign that he hadn’t been disowned? Probably. Was it a good sign that she’d shown up to interrogate Levi? _That_ was likely a sign that she had absolutely no boundaries. But Nico had always known that. That’s why he lived his life on the west coast, far away from his parents’ prying eyes. And far away from unannounced arrivals. Or so he’d thought. 

By the time Nico arrived home, he had figured out where his mom was. She was waiting for him in front of his building. 

“Eomma, what are you doing out here?” 

“Waiting for my son to let me into his apartment. You should have been home earlier.” She sat as if she wanted to touch as little of the bench as possible. 

“I had surgeries all day.” 

“I’ve been waiting for over an hour,” she reprimanded sharply. 

“That is _not_ my fault.” 

“I know you are not pleased that I am visiting unannounced. However, I assumed that you would let your mother spend the night. My plane leaves first thing in the morning.” Nico just stopped himself from rolling his eyes at her put upon tone. 

“Of course. I’ll get your bag.” 

It was as he was changing the sheets on his bed that he said, 

“Eomma, you didn’t need to hire a private investigator. If you had questions-” 

“I wanted answers, Nico, which _you_ never give to me.” 

“And you could have called instead of flying all the way out here to harass _Levi_.” 

“I thought he might say something enlightening. I thought perhaps I would understand your choices if I met him.” Nico didn’t need her to say that she hadn’t been enlightened. He knew. 

He folded the bedspread down and straightened up. 

“Do you have a cab coming in the morning?” 

“Of course I do.” That was his mother. Perfectly prepared. And infinitely inflexible. 

“Goodnight, Eomma.” 

“Nico.” Her voice stopped him a few steps down the hallway. He took a moment to breathe before turning around to face her. She was staring at him. She’d taken her heels off and he was struck by how small she was. 

“Levi Schmitt yelled at me today.” Nico’s heart sank. He was _exhausted_. 

“You showed up at his apartment unannounced. He had every right to be upset.” His mother held her hand up and he fell silent, once again suppressing an eye roll. 

“When you find a man who will yell at your parents for you and can make a fantastic hazelnut cheesecake, you should think carefully before walking away from him. Goodnight.” She closed the door with a snap, and Nico was left staring at the spot where she had been standing. 

He had _not_ been expecting that. 

***

Levi leaned against a wall as he ran through his to-do list. He had rounded on all of his patients and discharged three. He needed to run some labs, but then he was hoping to scrub in on Dr. Grey’s kidney transplant. 

“Levi.” The tablet slipped out of Levi’s hands and fell on his foot. He turned to look at Nico with wide eyes. 

“How long have you been standing there?” He tried to ignore the fact that this was the first time he’d spoken to Nico in person since...well, he’d been trying to avoid him for a while now. 

“Not long. Sorry if I scared you.” Levi shook himself a bit and reached for the tablet. 

“I mean it’s fine. I’m just prone to fake heart attacks, but I’m sure I’ll get over it someday.” He could see Nico smiling out of the corner of his eye, which he kind of loved. _Shit._

“Levi,” Nico said again. “About yesterday. I’m so sorry about my mom. She has no boundaries.” Levi waved his hands around vaguely and tried to shrug it off. 

“Don’t worry. It’s fine.” 

“No, it was totally inappropriate. On several levels. I really am sorry.” 

“I’m actually kind of glad that she, you know, interrogated me.” Levi forced himself to get the words out quickly and tried to convince his stupid heart to _calm down_. The hallway was unusually empty, which was a welcome change. Except Nico was squinting at him the way he does when Levi confuses him, so maybe he needed some kind of intervention. 

“What?” 

“I mean, it was definitely wild. And I was forced to say nice things about you, which is a little unfair, since I’m supposed to be hating you right now. She sort of derailed my entire healing process.” 

“Really _very_ sorry,” Nico said, but he sounded too amused to be sincere. 

“ _But_ , it made me think about some stuff and- I was going to try and find you anyway, so I guess it’s good you materialized here.” 

“Levi.” 

“Otherwise, I would have had to look for you and I might have forgotten or decided-” 

“ _Levi._ ” 

“I said that I was the only one that compromised in our relationship. You know, last month. And that wasn’t fair or true. I shouldn’t have said it. So...I’m sorry.” Nico’s smile was soft and sentimental as he said, 

“Thanks.” 

“And listing your good qualities at your mom reminded me how supportive you were. Even when things were crap. I definitely should have been more supportive about the Mariners thing even if I was...I don’t know.” 

“You were worried about everything changing. I mean, with your uncle and your mom. I knew that. I could have been more patient. Should have been.” Levi’s fingers traced the scuffed edge of the tablet as he shrugged one shoulder. 

“Maybe.” He cleared his throat and rocked forward onto his toes for a moment. “Anyway, I just thought I should say that. And uh, I should probably do some work. Run some labs or something.” 

“Levi.” Nico grabbed his wrist and Levi stared at his hand before raising his eyes to meet Nico’s. “Can we get dinner?” 

Levi’s mouth was dry, and he stammered when he spoke. 

“What- what happens at dinner? Do we-” 

“Talk?” Nico asked, grinning. And Levi knew, _he knew_ , that he was being teased, but he wasn’t ready to play along just yet. He didn’t want to go to this dinner just to joke around. 

“Yes. I mean, not excessively. I don’t need monologues or soliloquies or whatever, but I need _something_. I need to know-” Nico shifted so that he was holding Levi’s hand instead of his wrist and Levi fell silent. 

“It’s OK. I know. You pushed too much, but I didn’t give you anything to work with. Especially after my parents came to visit. I know I was being weird.” 

“It was like Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” 

“So, maybe we can get Ethiopian food and...find a middle ground?” 

Levi grinned. His heart was still beating like crazy, and he knew they probably shouldn’t be holding hands and discussing their relationship in the middle of the hallway. But he didn’t care because nobody was around, and maybe they could try again. 

“I get off at 7,” he said. 

Nico pushed away from the wall and winked at him, which was _rude_ because he knows what that does to Levi and it’s not fair. 

***

Nico switched his phone to the other ear. His mother was explaining why working for a sports team would be a waste of his time and talent. He made vague sounds of acknowledgement as he peeked into the kitchen. Levi was adding some walnuts to the salad and checking on the galette he had in the oven. Nico had suggested that they get take out, but Levi had wanted to cook in honor of the Mariners interview. _Obviously_ , Nico thought that was sweet, but he also suspected that Levi had wanted an excuse to go to the farmers’ market. Speaking of which, his mother had changed the subject and was now telling him about her garden club. 

“Eomma, Levi is a resident. He can’t just fly to Boston to help you bake for your monthly garden club party. He’s busy.” Nico stepped fully into the kitchen and rolled his eyes. His mother’s voice carried and he knew Levi could hear her response. 

“It is not the _monthly_ garden club party, Nico. It is the _annual_ party, which means that everything needs to be themed. Nico, you have a responsibility to help your mother.” 

“Tell her to make rose cardamom cupcakes and decorate them like roses,” Levi whispered. “Or lemon lavender cookies cut out like sprigs of lavender.” Nico shook his head and gestured at Levi in a manner that suggested Levi should not encourage her. 

“Eomma, I have to go. I’m sure dinner’s almost ready.” 

“Dinner’s ready!” Levi called helpfully. 

Dinner was delicious and Nico gave Levi a brief summary of the interview. In return, Levi provided a lengthy description of his patients and the podcast about ants that he’d been listening to. 

They made it all the way to the end of dinner before Nico looked at Levi knowingly and said, 

“You want to talk about what the job would mean for us, don’t you?” Levi shrugged casually while he swallowed his last bite and replied, 

“Maybe tomorrow. There’s no rush.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, totally.” He waited a moment. “I practiced saying that in front of a mirror for 27 minutes today.” Nico threw his head back and laughed. 

“But why not 30 minutes?” 

“I did a good job!” 

"So proud of you.” Nico grabbed the plates off the table and followed Levi into the kitchen. “Listen, if I _don’t_ get the job, I’m going to be pretty pissed and I’m going to want space.” 

“Nico, we don’t always need to talk about your feelings. You should try living in the moment a little more.” Levi managed to hold a straight face for 10 seconds before he laughed, and that was only because he’d managed to avoid making eye contact. 

“Oh yeah?” Nico trapped him against the counter. “And what does this moment hold for me?” 

“Well, _this_ moment holds the dishes, but a moment in the near future holds chocolate lava cake and probably sex.” Levi stood on his toes and wrapped his arms around Nico’s neck so that he could reach up for a kiss. 

“We’ll figure it out. We’ll be OK.” 


End file.
